Harding experimented with "Flock of the Future," a VR project, recalling, "Participants wore headsets and sensors on their wrists and ankles, and were birds interacting with other birds in the virtual world. It’s hard to explain, but it was stunning and peaceful in a way I had never experienced, and I could walk into the co-workers I was with and other strangers with remarkable ease and lightness.

"VR often gets a bad rap for being isolating, but if it is combined with touch it could wind up being the most intimate medium of all. Of course, it goes without saying that all touch in the virtual (and physical, for that matter) worlds should be consensual and appropriate — but once that's in place, really interesting things can start to happen."